Appellhofplatz

Cologne square named after the Court of Appeal — built on the site of a Roman gate tower and shaped by centuries of landmark court cases.

Outdoor

Square History City centre Old town City history Roman Cologne Medieval Architecture Monument Vanished Cologne City gate

Appellhofplatz in Cologne's Innenstadt district takes its name from a courthouse that locals nicknamed the "Appellhof". Spectacular jury trials before and after the war defined the square's identity for generations of Cologne residents.

At a Glance

Type: Inner-city square
Location: Cologne-Altstadt-Nord, Innenstadt district
Surrounding street: 268 metres long, encircling the square — except for a section of Burgmauer street
Expansion: Enlarged in 1890 with the site of a demolished chapel
Transport: Light rail stop (lines 3, 4, 5, 16, 18)

Did you know?

The site of today's Appellhofplatz was once home to a Roman gate tower that later served as a medieval convent cell — a single cell for two Beguines in 1316 grew into a full monastery by 1334. During construction of the courthouse in 1824, Roman stone monuments were unearthed, including a Diana altar dedicated between 89 and 120 AD.

Source: Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-06-24

Name and Legal History

The "Rhenish Court of Appeal in Cologne", designed by Johann Peter Weyer, was handed over on 6 November 1826. Construction had begun in 1824 in the vineyard of the Mariengarten convent, secularised before 1820. The building was soon informally called the "Appellhof"; the name spread to the square to the south and eventually became the official street name.

Appellhofplatz, Köln, westlicher Teil, Blick Richtung Süden — © Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0

Roman Traces

Before the courthouse, this site held a Roman gate tower — an early subsidiary gate of the northern gate in the Roman city wall. Its passageway was 4.40 metres wide, narrowing to 3.78 metres at the top, and a Roman road led from here north-westward towards Longerich, Bocklemünd and Stommeln. Excavations uncovered Roman stone monuments, including a Diana altar dedicated between AD 89 and 120, found in 1828.

Stolpersteine für Reichhardt, Appellhofplatz 1, Köln — © Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0

From Tower to Convent

The structure lost its function as a gate by the end of the Roman period and was recorded as "Aldenwich(h)us" in 1292. Heinrich vom Cusin designated the tower in 1316 to house two Beguines; this cell grew into the Convent of the Cell in 1334, which was demolished before 1824 to make way for the courthouse.

New Building and Later Use

As court space requirements grew sharply, a new concave building in the Dutch Renaissance style by Paul Thoemer and Rudolf Mönnich was erected on the same site from 1883. It was already too small when handed over in 1893, prompting the Cologne Higher Regional Court to relocate to Reichenspergerplatz in 1911. Damaged by bombs in the Second World War, the building was rebuilt in simplified form in 1945. Criminal courts and the regional court were housed here until 1981, after which the Cologne Administrative Court and Cologne Finance Court moved in.

Timeline

1824
Construction of the Court of Appeal begins on the site of the former Mariengarten monastery
1826
Court of Appeal inaugurated on 6 November (architect J. P. Weyer)
1855
Garden in front of the courthouse laid out by Anton Strauß
1883
New courthouse building (Thoemer/Mönnich) begun on the same site
1893
New building in Dutch Renaissance style handed over in July
1911
Court of Appeal moves to Reichenspergerplatz in October
1945
Building hit by bombs and rebuilt in greatly simplified form
1981
Criminal courts and regional court move out; administrative court moves in (17 March)